MousePotato

Husband and I are going to look at a house tomorrow. It's an old farmhouse from 1892! Personally, I love historic homes and can't wait to see it in person. I'm curious how the rest of you feel.

capekate

I LOVE Historic old homes myself. Do you ever watch the show "IF walls can talk"? Its on HGTV. ( Home and garden tv). I think they are fantastic and would love to be able to buy one myself. Good luck.. hope it works out for you!

Hypnox

I love homes from the craftsman era.

capekate

The Craftsman era had some great homes too!

MousePotato

Oh, I LOVE that show! I'm quite taken with history and I love the stories people tell about their homes. I hope this works out for us, too, thanks. Husband has already seen it and he fell in love.

I'd like to post a picture of the exterior, but I'm not sure that's the best idea security-wise if we buy it. So... May I present the entryway?

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Dino

Hehehe, but I already know where everyone lives.
But I can understand why you may be concerned with other people.

One of my aunts lives in a craftman.
The wood work is amazing.

Very cool thread.

MousePotato

Ooh, that's true... I should probably warn you that the fireplace is in the Master Bedroom...

MinxMermaid

we might come and fish-knap your bettas!

our house was built in 1928, but Rick's pretty much re-done the whole thing.
he's da bomb!

MousePotato

Nooooo, please...! We just have the one betta and he's just a little crowntail cup-kid!

It is definitely a "project house." I told Steve, aka "Husband," that if we buy it, he'd better be ready for a lot of work right away. The whole kitchen needs remodeling and there are virtually no closets. There is a lot of room for fish tanks, though. It's 3500 square feet with five bedrooms and three full baths on 9.59 acres for the two of us and our menagerie! I'm not going to say exactly what the list price is ('cause all those not in "flyover" country would truly die of jealousy!), but it's plenty low enough to allow us remodeling money. Let's just say it's about 70k below where we were looking. I think we can "re-do" a bit. Feel free to send Rick our way.

Lucy

The entrance is gorgeous, I love it.

I answered "You do realize this is a fish forum, right? Why aren't you asking about fish" only because I can be a brat.

I really love older homes especially widow watches and round rooms.
Good luck with the viewing.

capekate

Ohhh the entrance way or foyer looks great! I love how the bottom of the stairs has that little curve. and the pillars... Wish I can see the chandeliar that is hanging just above the photo? This is what I love about old homes. they have such great character that you just do not find in the box shape rooms of newer homes. Closet space was always a big problem with old homes. They hardly had any at all. I wonder why that is? Have we become such pack rats of the future that we have no where to put our 'stuff' lol...
And I love the large kitchens of yesterday... where a family can eat at the kitchen table and have plenty of room to move around in.
On another note, I just shipped an item that I sold on ebay to of all places..
The Woodlands, TX. lol... isnt that funny? ( I just noticed your location in your info under your member name)
I agree with Dino, tho this is not fish related... its a great thread and fun to read! I really wish you the best possible chance to get that home.. it sounds absolutely fantastic!

MousePotato

Thanks, Lucy. I wouldn't have included that poll option if I weren't a bit of a brat myself.

The chandelier looks modern, but I included a picture just for you.

We saw the house and it is gorgeous! It definitely needs work, but it is livable. Both formals, den, bonus room off the kitchen, nine foot ceilings and sooooo much character! Huge wraparound porch and balconies upstairs. Large rooms - the formal dining room is 17x17! Oh, and the foyer has an outlet on the right side with just enough room for a 75 gallon tank. On the downside, Husband will have to duck every time he goes up and down the stairs. My 5'4" cleared easily, but his 6' got him a goose egg!

We are working out ideas for the closet space issue. People used to use wardrobes, but I wonder how many 19th century dresses would fit in one? I know we are pack rats, so I can't criticize anyone else.

The kitchen is large, but there isn't much cabinet space. If/when we remodel we may well lose the breakfast area. I guess we'll work it out. There is plenty of space for play.

That's funny about you shipping to The Woodlands. I wouldn't have been surprised if it were to Houston since there's about 5 million people in the metropolitan area, but The Woodlands is a "community" of about 80,000 people. What are the odds?

I'm glad you like this thread. I was hesitant to start it, but then I thought "you never know - someone could find it interesting." Thank you, also, for the well-wishing on our chances. The offer has been submitted and our agent is pushing the owner already. Now I just need to get home tomorrow and get our house on the market!

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MagpieTear

I have an even older house. It's a very rewarding experience, provided you come in with a willingness to get dirty and spend the money to update things such as wiring and plumbing. Often insulation is non-existent. Bringing those three items up to todays standards can be exceedingly frustrating at times unless you plan on gutting the room and starting from scratch.

If you thrive on DIY, go for it!

Here's the quick photohistory of me remodeling my living room.
http://s159.photobucket.com/albums/t...oom%20Remodel/
Turns out I didn't have standard stud construction, but post and beam construction and had to get creative to insulate.

capekate

Hi MousePotato
thanks for the photo of the chandelier it is gorgeous! It may be modern but it sure has the old style to it and Im sure it fits into the house style perfectly. WOW balconies on the second floor! How cool is that! The place sounds wonderful.. and I sure hope that your bid is accepted! Good luck with that!
ps. The woodlands address was SawDust Road... are you familiar with that? lol.. it is funny isn't it?

Allie

Yes I would love to buy an old home like that....reinforce many floors. I just love the way 100 year old homes look. My aunt and uncle live in Lunenburg NS, home of the Bluenose. They have an awesome old home with huge wood banisters going upstairs, the wood work and the windows are so cool.

angelfish220

I live in an old farmhouse built at the end of the Civil war, 1864. It's pretty cool. There is a widow walk but no round rooms (sorry . There is a basement UNDER the basement then another root celler UNDER the second basement. but that is reeeaaallyyy spooky so we never go down there. there isn't electricity there either. the only really bad thing is that in the upstairs there is 1 outlet per room so having a fish tank up there is a real feat.

owain

I live in a old Victorian house, thats quite old I guess, built to last not like these new builds there thowing up all round the place.

MousePotato

Kate, I am very familiar with Sawdust Road. It's one of the four major east-west roads through The Woodlands. It's mostly businesses, so I doubt you sent the package to a residence. That's pretty cool, though. It probably went someplace within 10-15 minutes of our house.

This house does not have any round rooms or widow walks, but it has huge bay windows in the dining room. It also has an "old-tyme refrigerator" thingy. People would haul blocks of ice from the lake and put it in the top compartment while they stored food in the bottom one. I would use it as a pantry myself.

The owner told us it was originally a plantation house on over 300 acres. It has been continuously occupied so a lot of the stuff to "bring it up to code" has been done. I counted 3-4 outlets in each room and it has two HVAC units. It's definitely built to last. It's framed out by cypress 2x12s!

I think it's really cool that so many of you live in historic homes. Down here, "historic" means 1970s! I never dreamed I'd have an opportunity to own a piece of history myself.

Hypnox

Heh, some day I may be able to move into an older home. For now my 1954 blank box home does the trick. Having plenty of fun updating everything on it.

Lucy

It sounds like a great house.

pamd

The house looks and sounds fantastic! I love the character of older homes. It sounds like you and Steve found a real gem at an excellent price!

The entry is so gracious. It's great, if your contract is accepted, that you have the bucks for any necessary remodeling. You'll have your dream kitchen and I'm sure with some ingenuity, because of the amount of space available, you can work out the closet and storage problems. You have already considered the floor supports because of the tanks, right?

Many years ago, my groom and I rented a "relatively new" 1927 house in Fort Pierce, Florida. It was in practically mint and pristine condition, with original wood floors, even original (and very gorgeous) Art Deco style chandeliers and wall sconces. I was always terrified of breaking one when I cleaned them, since they would be impossible to replace. It had all the original tiles on the bathroom floors and countertops, kitchen floor, and a huge "Florida Room" that had lots and lots of windows. The house was very cleverly built to let in sunlight from the winter sun for heating, and shade it for cooling in the summer. It was two stories, and included a gorgeous, unobstructed view of the Indian River.

We rented it for a pittance. The elderly landlord had lived on the property all his life, as had his wife since he married her. Our rent barely covered the property taxes. They built a modest one-story house on the 2-acre property for themselves (easier to handle and get around in) and they just wanted a couple with no kids to take care of the old place.

The house sure had its inconveniences, though, such as almost no closet space, inadequate cooling and heating by more modern standards, very few electrical outlets, and way outdated wiring and plumbing. Your old house seems way ahead of the game!

Ahhhhh, nostalgia! I loved that house, even though it was only a rental for five years.

When I was in Florida recently, friends Kathie and Lisa and I went on a "joy-ride" through my old stomping grounds. I could not find the house. Seems our old house, the older mansion with tennis court next door, and about the closest 10 adjacent houses were torn down. The new houses have huge green lawns (I'd hate to take care of them) but they're beautiful and ritzy. I was so sad, though.

MousePotato

I messaged Steve about that earlier. I'm not so sure the floor can handle the 110 without reinforcement. I'm sure the 30 and five gallon tanks will be fine. It has a "pier and beam" foundation with tree trunks making up a large part of the supports (seriously!), so the floor is not over a concrete slab. It feels very odd to my city girl feet! The bonus room is over concrete, so that may be the place for the big tank initially.

That home sounds gorgeous! I'm, sorry they tore it down. Sounds like Houston. Very little down here to reflect on the city's past. A common saying is that "people don't come down here to live - they come to work" and the city reflects that attitude.

This house has had a lot of work done, some good and some bad. I'm glad it has updated plumbing and electrical, but I am also sad that it has lost some of its historical integrity. Well, it makes it easier to "modernize" if I'm not destroying its history. My mother suggested we get an architect for a consultation to make it our dream home. I was hesitant at first, but I guess it's already so far from where it began that a few more tweaks won't make a difference. It's really kind of funny. There are windows in a closet and between the kitchen and bonus room, which is where the old refrigerator thingy is. I told Steve we could make that thing a pantry and we made a lot of jokes about popping through the window every time I need a can of tomatoes!

I'm really very excited about the house, if you can't tell from my long posts! I was also surprised at just how much land is included in 9.5 acres. There is plenty of room for a couple of pastures, a riding arena, a vegetable garden and even to build a detatched garage. There is a barn already, but it's for cattle, so we need to build some stalls for horses. There's even an old "charter oak" tree that the kid in me is just aching to climb!

marcie31401

I live downtown in Savannah, GA. All the homes are extremely old, and are all unique. That's why we love it here!

MousePotato

He accepted the offer! Finally, after weeks of nail-biting, he has accepted our offer! If the inspection checks out, we'll be closing the first week of December.

I am soooooo excited!

Lucy

That's great!!! Congratulations

MissMTS

Congrats! Thats fantastic news I haven't posted, but I have been following the thread and the house is gorgeous. You are going to have such a fun time decorating it and making it your own. It already has so much charm and character it will be spectacular when you move in!

MousePotato

Thank you, ladies! As an added bonus, it looks like my stepdaughter will be moving in with us. Life has taken another dramatic turn at The Mouse House. My "ex-wife in-law" tried to commit suicide this past weekend and has been taken into custody. Thankfully, she is still alive, but it is definitely time to remove my beloved stepdaughter from her care!

MissMTS

Oh how awful. Its great that your stepdaughter will be coming to live with you. How old is she? I hope that her mother can turn things around. Thank goodness she's alive.

MousePotato

Okay, I just re-read my post and it sounds harsh, but you have no idea what this woman has put us through in the past few years! I am not happy that she tried to kill herself, but I AM happy that we get to take this child away from a very dangerous environment!

MissMTS

I understand completely!